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Jacob Wright sells novel-writing software mostly to hobbyists. Dabble runs at 4% churn and has grown to nearly $2M ARR over nine years. At MicroConf Europe 2026, Jacob explained the product principles behind it 🧵

Jacob starts with Steve Krug’s “Don’t Make Me Think.” Every confusing label or odd error message drains a user’s goodwill. So Jacob leans on conventions people already know, such as putting the profile menu top right and using a gear icon for settings.

Then he pushes past usable. Aaron Walter’s “Designing for Emotion” maps Maslow’s hierarchy onto products, from functional up to pleasurable. Most founders stop at usable. Jacob argues that satisfaction is the enemy of word of mouth. People share what makes them feel something.

Here’s how Dabble applies it: → Writers create chapters and scenes, not files and folders → Focus mode kicks in as soon as you type → The loading screen greets writers with a writing quote → Confetti fires when a writer hits a goal